Wednesday's Workbook: Vanity Re-VAMP

Months ago, I talked about making new soft furnishings for my bedroom, primarilary for my vanity...and now it's going on a year (and another move) and, FINALLY...I've started...yeah! I was motivation to do something because my fabrics were highlighted in this recent houzz ideabook, and it made me realize that I had better get busy :D

So...first things first...is to take measurements:

I needed the height and the depth of the side panels/curtains for my vanity...here you can see how they are simple rod-pocket panels that hang from sash rods that are attached to the edges of my vanity top.

Once I have my measurements, I sit down and draw my own patterns and determine the length/width of my fabrics to be cut...

Since these are simple rod-pocket panels I simply take the height of the vanity with is 29 1/2" tall and I add 1 1/2" for the rod pocket and 1 1/2" for the hem which is 32 1/2 inches total but I rounded it off to 33 inches for my final cut to give me some play since I will be gathering these panels...alot...and that always takes away from the finished length. The width/depth of the vanity sides are 17 inches and because I'm using drapery/upholstery fabric it has a wideth of 54". If I cut a width of this in half to make two panels, then the finished width would be 27 inches...less the side seams/hems of 1 inch each...that would give me a final finished panel of 25 inches and with a 17 inch vanity side...8 inches is just not enough gathered fabric...SO...to make a long story short...I'm using an entire width of fabric for each side so that I have a lot of gathered fullness...YEAH!

So now I have to cut my two panels of 33 inches from my roll of fabric...

Ha...and since I do not have a lot of space here, at the Love Shack, to roll out my fabric...I'm making do with the kitchen floor...MAINLY because it has some nice grout "lines" to help me measure...

As in most cases when you buy fabric...it does not have a nice straight edge when you get it home...SO I line up my selvedge edge...with my nice straight "grout lines" on my kitchen floor and then with my "T" ruler, I make a straight line all the way across the 54-inch edge with blue sewing chalk.

For me...this is one of the most important parts when you start a sewing project...A STRAIGHT EDGE! Especially if you have fabric with a pattern...nothing is worse then hanging your finished curtains and you see that your pattern is hanging "crooked" because you started off cutting your fabric with uneven edges...trust me on this...I've seen many friends who skip this part and cry later because everytime they look at their windows they see their folly :D

Another tip to STRAIGHT EDGES is that you remove all the selvedge edges...

I know it's really tempting to keep these perfect edges and use them as your seam allowances...BUT do not because if/when you wash your finished panels...these selvedge edges shrink and your side seams will never lay straight again :{ NOW...I'm not one to wash and dry my fabrics before I sew many home decorating item that are un-lined...LAZY...I know...but I also do not wash my drapery/upholstery fabrics because I love the finish that they have in them when they come from the factory/mill...almost like a really good starched finish...and I like it! If I was lining my curtains...that would be a different story...because your lining fabrics and your drapery fabrics all have different "shrink" potential and unless you are going to have your draperies dry-cleaned you should be sure to wash/dry/iron before sewing you lined pieces.

OKAY...so first you have to hem your side seams...so I always turn my side seam up/in 1/2-inch (using a seam ruler as shown here)...this is your SEAM ALLOWANCE. By turning your raw edges in like this you are preventing your seams from fraying in the future.

I turn and pin all my seams on all my panels and then I go to the iron and PRESS the seam allowances:

Some sewers do not bother to pin and iron their seam allowances...but again...I like STRAIGHT edges. Once I have pressed my seam allowances, while I am at the ironing board, I turn my seam allowances in on themselves, forming another 1/2-inch side seam/hem...AND then I press this with the pins still in.

Once I've ironed my seams/hems, I remove the vertical pins and place them horizontally so that they can remain in place while I'm sewing the seams/hems. I place the seam under the pressure foot and set my sewing needle as far to the left as possible so that the stitching line is as close to the inside, seam edge as possible.

Once you have sewn all of your side seams (four for me since I'm sewing two panels) then you need to make your seam allowances for the top and bottom of your panels by turning the edges in 1/2-inch...and you know the drill...turn, pin, iron...equals straight edges!

Once you have ironed your seam allowances...for smooth...non-bunching corners...TRIM the corner for a mitered, clean corner. Then turn your fabric over to determine which way the pattern on your fabric is going (if you have a pattern that has a definite up and a down...that is :)

This is very important because I always make my top rod-pocket first when sewing curtain panels...

You determine the length of your rod-pocket seam/hem at this point by the diameter of your drapery rod. In my case...it's a skinny sash rod so I only need a small rod-pocket. So I'm turning my seam/hem in by 1 1/2-inches and pinning my entire panel and ironing it so that it's ready to be sewn down.

Then, again...I set my pressure foot as far to the left as possible and sew my rod-pocket down. Now if I wanted a header for this panel then I would sew another stitch line at least one-half of an inch from the right edge or, top of the rod pocket panel. You can see more of a header in this post where you can see that the gathered edge of the fabric sits ABOVE the drapery rod...forming a header.

So...once you have finished sewing and pressing your rod-pocket panel...then you need to hang in on your rod and check the length to determine your desired finished hem.

Well, well, well...here you can see that with my seam allowance the length right now is perfect...EXCEPT for the fact that I really do not have any more length left to even turn up my seam allowance by one-half of an inch to make a perfect hem...ugh! So what's a girl to do?

Well this girl loves to say...BETTER DONE THAN PERFECT...and I really mean it! So since I am not going to be washing these panels...overly much (maybe once a year when I'm in the mood for a good cleaning ha :) so I've opted to sew two zig-zag stitch lines on top of the seam allowance. Zig -Zag stiches are really good for hindering any fraying that might occur in the future, especially when these panels are washed. AND because the pattern on this fabric is very busy, you can't even see the zig-zag stitches on the front of the fabric.

See...in this case...done and just perfect :D NOW for the scarf for the vanity top...

I found this really pretty pink, leopard print fabric...called WILD THING...that I just had to have! So I bought a yard of it at the same time that I bought my paisley fabric...because I thought that I'd make some coordinating pillows or something. Then I thought about making a new vanity scarf with it...so how do you make a square from a yard of drapery fabric that measures 54" wide? You simply lay the fabric flat and fold a triangle on the 36-inch side of the fabric. Then cut along the non-folded edge to remove the excess and you are left with a perfect, 36-inch square...

Now because this 36-inch square is almost the perfect size to fit on top of my corner vanity, I do not want to wasted fabirc by making large seams. SO...I'm only folding the seam allowance in by 1/4-inch and then folding it unto itself again to make a total 1/4-inch finished hem on all four sides.

Sew down your side seams and remember to trim your corners for a really flat, mitered corners. Once I had finished sewing and pressing all my seams flat...I pulled out my can of Scotch-Gard.

Because I use my vanity to put my make-up on...in the past...I've been known to have accidents with make-up getting on the vanity scarf and ottoman...see Exhibit A ;]

So sad...I know...obviously this ottoman was not sprayed with two coats of Scotch-Gard and now this fabric is ruined! I've tried every possible stain remover and all to no avail...so I'll either have to patch this ottoman cover...perhaps with this beautiful embroidered tea-towel that my Grandmother made...

But even the thought of spilling make-up on this really upsets me and I don't think there is enough Scotch-Gard around to prevent that...lol So maybe I'll just fold this tea towel and lay it on my vanity mirror where it softens the metal frame. Here it will remind me of my Grandmother...sitting in her rocking chair, with her embroidery hoop, floss and many needles...every time I sit down to use my vanity ;}

AND as far as the ottoman...well next week I'll show you all how to make a new cover for this. For now, I'm enjoying my Vanity Re-VAMP with my bright green china plates and the lucious leopard print scarf. Hope you all enjoyed this post and if you have any questions regarding my sewing instructions, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you directly. Fondly, Roberta

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Hello I'm Roberta,

Welcome to the Love Shack.
Inside this small space we are living large!
I hope that you will follow along as I rant and rave about my passion for creating a blessed life with my family...no matter where the road may lead us.
Fondly, Roberta